St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-19
Personal EXPERIENCES.
Stories Told by Those Who Went
Through the Time OF Horror.

BUFFALO, n. Y, March 1S.-William
H. Airport, the night clerk, says:
The fire started in the cloak room under
the main stairway at $50 o clock. There
was nobody up but myself, Joe, the night
porter, and Plummer, the bell boy. | pulled
ali four of the fire alarms on the itferent
floors, and people came flying down stairs III
their night clothes. The fire followed the
elevator and inside of five minutes it reached
the top floor. l rushed out o. doors after
dong ali | could.
Bell Boy Plummer tells his experience as
follows:
/ was busting the reading room when
heard a shout and the flames coming up
the stairw ay from the basement. Mr.. Airport
and | turned on the hose under the main
stairway. We Strengthened the hose out and
turned the valve but the water would not run.
Then gave the alarm. The Waterman and
| got plank and broke IN the Eagle street
entrance TO the hotel. Then we got the plank
under the fire escape on Eagle street and we
helped people down. l think there were
about eghty-fOur guests in the house.
Hugo V. AltShul, of New York, assisted
a number of women from the burning
building. He then
MADE HIS OWN ESCAPE
by leaping from one building to another
until he reached the corner OF Washington
and North Division streets. and thus gained
the street. Clinton BidWell, of Pittsburg,
is dying Oh an impIOviSed cot at Dr.. Hayd'S
Office.
Look at my hands, he shrieked. az tied
the sheets together andss..came down by them.
When was mostly down a man who mad
jumped shot past me. He came near strik-
ing me. My GOO, the people lay on the roof
all about me. They were grooming and dying.
1t was awful. They died. know they did.
The skin is all Off me. l haven't Il friend with
me and none who know the, but in Pittsburg;
l made up my mind would stick to tue rope
and did
He turned on his cot and yelled with
pain. DR.. Hayd had given him morphine,
but it had no effect. William. Mann, one
of the proprletors of the house. and his
wife had thrilling experience in getting
out Mrs. Mann was terribly burned about
the head. arms and legs. Their little
daughter Jennie was also badly burned. II.
NJ. johnson, the celebrated sprint runner.
of Pittsburg, says:
l arrived in Buffalo yesterday and was as
sign ed to Room 1875 at the Richmond hotel.
About $3.50 this morning the bell boy pounded
upon my door. iwoke and found my room
full of smoke. ] dressed quickly and rushed
out into the hallway, and oh
MY GOD, WHAT A SIGHT.
Men, women and children acted perfectly
wild and did not know which way to go.
Women raved like naniacS and ran pell nell
from the stairway and i'll every direction. The
smoke was almost Suffocating. cannot re-
member anything about how [ got out. I
think / came down the stairway.
Five girls who roomed on the fifth floor
made rope out of the bed clothes and hung
it out of the window, but none of them
seemed to have the courage to start. AT
last one Of the five took hold and swung
down to window ledge, from which she
was rescued. Three others came down in
the same manner and then the fifth girl
started down. She had gone but little
distance when the rope parted and down she
went four stories. Strange to say she was
not killed.
HER LEGS WERE TERRIBLY CUT
and bruised. her back badly injured and her
face and arms were in frightful condition
from burns. She lay moaning upon lounge
at the Spencer house begging to be sent
home. Her name is said to be Mary Con-
nell. In front of Dining Bros store lay a
dead man covered by mattress. He had
black hair and a full face which was COW
cred with blood and could not be recognized.
At first it was thought lie was Supt Nor
ford, of the Chicago Central railroad, but
MorfOrd was afterwards found.
James Mcclure. night engineer at the
fire broke out. lie saved a man who was
coming down stairs in his night clothes and
who was Frustrated by the flames and
smoke. After getting him out he returned
and tried to rescue
\ YOUNG GIRL
from room Oh the third floor but she was
lost in the fire. Mr.. Mcclure said: 1T was
terrible to hear her cries. For some reason
she could rot open the door and was
unable to break it ill., Finally l was driven
away by the fire and smoke and had to
leave her to her fate. l could only tell from
the voice, but l supposed she was young
| girl anywhere from 10 to Is years old. She
was i'll a room on the third floor, facing on
Main street, Z. Ii. Humes occupied a
room Oh the third floor. He was awakened
by the electric bells, and after arousng
several people on the same floor, jumped
through the window to the kitchen roof
There everything was in flames. After
bidding goodbye to several others on the
same roof, he made rush fol the Eagle
street doors, going through the kitchen
! skylight and out through the flames and
escaped. He left five persons on the kitchen
roof.